RAINE MAGAZINE Volume 16 | Innovate

FOUR SEASONS
Martinhal Beach Resort
Photos Courtesy Jesse Nash
Convento do Espinheiro, Évora
From the Algarve, we drove two and a half hours north to the beautiful
ancient university city of Évora, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Established
as a city for more than 2000 years, Évora became a second home for Portuguese
royalty during the 15th and 16th centuries. Around 1400 it is said that an apparition
of the Virgin Mary appeared above a thornbush (espinheiro, in Portuguese)
outside of Évora. It became a sacred site and in 1458 the local bishop ordered
the building of a monastery and church that was to be a home of the Order of
Saint Jerome. The Convento was the site of many Portuguese and Spanish kings’
religious retreats and ceremonies. The Order was mostly dissolved in the mid 19th
century and the property fell into ruin.
Fortunately, in 1999, the Camacho family, from the Portuguese island
of Madeira, bought it and planned its transformation into a five-star hotel. In 2005,
after painstaking years of meticulous restoration, it opened as the Convento
do Espinheiro Hotel and Spa (http://www.conventodoespinheiro.com/en), the
first five-star hotel in Alentejo province and a national historic monument. This
magnificent hotel offers opulent accommodations, a fantastic restaurant that
serves traditional Portuguese food in a modern style, a spa recognized as one of
the best in Portugal and many other luxury features.
Dinis Pires, the General Manager of the Convento, took great joy in
telling us the history of the property. “The Convento do Espinheiro is a national
treasure,” he says “and I am humbled to be its caretaker.” He first brought us
to the huge vaulted restaurant, which was the convent’s wine cellar. Across a
corridor from the restaurant entrance is the magnificently restored church, now a
venue for weddings and other religious events. Dinis patiently guided us through
the extensive artwork in the church, including its superb tile murals of the life of
St. Jerome. We visited the former royal residences, now transformed into suites
fit for a king, and then moved on to the bar, which was originally the monastery’s
refectory. Before dinner we wandered into the adega (wine bar) for a tasting of
fabulous Alentejo wines paired with local cheeses and charcuterie. The adega,
which is furnished with stylish alabaster tables and bars, was once the convent’s
gothic cistern.
Our motto for this hotel: “Come for the history, stay for the luxury!”
Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon
Towering over Lisbon’s main square, the Marques de Pombal, stands
a large, handsome building with a simple sign on top: “Ritz.” This is the Four
Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon, the premier hotel property in Lisbon. Upon arrival,
doormen who already knew our names greeted us warmly, and then walked us
into an enormous elegant lobby decorated with spectacular flower arrangements.
Then it was up to the 10th floor, to our stunningly beautiful rooms with balconies
overlooking the Marques de Pombal (and most of the rest of historic central
Lisbon).
The view is fabulous, the room is fabulous, the service is impeccable
(the housekeeping staff even neatly folds your clothes!) and the whole atmosphere
of the Ritz Four Seasons makes you never want to leave!
Of course, most five-star hotels offer good fitness facilities. But the
Lisbon Ritz Four Seasons takes the concept of fitness centers to a (quite literally)
much higher level. The 7,535 square-foot center covers the entire rooftop of the
building, offering breathtaking views of the city and the Tagus River. It features
an exercise room, two yoga studios, a 1,313-foot outdoor running track and a
fully equipped traditional Pilates studio. What appears to be a beautiful indoor
swimming pool overlooking the hotel’s gardens was under renovation during our
visit, but a luxurious spa in the basement offers massages, a Turkish bath and a
sauna. You can easily spend all day at the hotel, it has so much to offer.
And the restaurant! Overlooking Eduardo VII Park and the hotel’s
terraces, the Varanda Restaurant features a rich variety of French-style cuisine
as well as some authentic and diverse Portuguese dishes. Executive chef Pascal
Meynard, a native of the Basque area of southern France, previously owned his
own restaurants in Tasmania and the Canadian Rockies and served as executive
chef at the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues in Geneva, Switzerland, and the
Four Seasons Hotel Montreal, Canada. For us he decided on a very French,
multi-course gourmet tasting meal of seafood and meats, accompanied by special
Portuguese wines. We began with an amuse bouche of foam celery with roasted
red mullet with truffle condiment. The first appetizer was ObsiBlue prawn, and the
second scallops with caviar Baeri. Then came the first course of roast cod with
miso and seaweed salad and crunchy vegetables, followed by a second course of
poularde (a specially fattened chicken) de Bresse, with lemon gnocchi and green
asparagus. This amazing meal ended with a fabulous desert of made of cheese
Bavaroise. Fantastique!
Our motto for this hotel: “Come for the comfort, stay for the opulence!”
Seeing Portugal in Style
What a better way to discover the wonders of Portugal than
by staying in style in this five-star trio -- each one unique, each one
offering an unforgettable experience. Marvelous in every way -- or as
they say in Portuguese, “Maravilhoso!” We’ll be back!
FOUR SEASONS TRACK